Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader who is an internal communicator just like you. This week's question really struck a chord with me:
“I am job hunting and recruiters often require specific industry experience for an internal comms role, for example they want me to have experience working in finance or working in retail or working in their specific sector. This is stopping me applying for loads of jobs that otherwise look like a good fit for me - any advice on how to tackle this? Is there any way around it?”
Alright I'll be straight with you, this drives me nuts. I often despair when I see job ads that require years of experience in a specific sector. There's really no need for it, and I always feel like the recruiter is limiting their ability to find the right person with this approach.
Why? Because the idea that internal communicators need specific industry experience is just downright incorrect. The core skills of internal communication are highly transferable across sectors - skills like:
- Understanding your audience
- Tailoring messages to employee segments
- Creating strategic campaigns linked to business goals
- Managing stakeholders
- Managing effective channels
Think about it: whether you're communicating with retail staff, financial analysts, or manufacturing teams you're still fundamentally dealing with human beings who need clear, easy-to-understand and relevant information to do their jobs effectively. Industry knowledge can be learned.
My own industry-hopping journey
Let me give you some examples from my own career. I took a job in 2016 in financial services. I'd never worked in a finance company before, I didn't know anything about pensions or income protection and I didn't know what the word "annuity" meant. Did this stop me getting the job? Absolutely not.
Because when I joined the company, I immersed myself in the business, learned what the company did and how it made money. I asked lots of questions and I read everything I could lay my hands on. I even sat some finance exams which helped boost my understanding.
After that role, I took up a job as Head of Internal Comms in the Irish national police force. Had I worked in policing before? Nope. Did I know anything about policing? Not really. (I don't think watching true crime shows on youtube counts.) Did this lack of industry-specific experience or knowledge stop me doing a great job? Nah. I won multiple awards for the work I did in that role.
Again - industry knowledge can be learned.
Communicators are great learners. We are hungry, we are curious, we are insatiable for knowledge. This is really why I think industry experience is so unnnecessary in job ads.
So how do we get around these industry requirements?
Some job ads still ask for industry experience, we know this. So how do we get around that?
Well the annoying answer is probably this: it depends.
If the recruiter or hiring manager is 100% fixed on requiring industry-specific experience then there's not much you can do.
BUT I reckon a lot of them don't know what they don't know. They don't understand how transferable our skills are or how adept communicators are at moving sectors. So maybe it's up to us to tell them and make our case.
What I would do
If I saw my dream job advertised but it asked for industry experience I didn't have, I'd apply anyway. Here's how I would approach it in my job application:
Talk about transferable skills
I'd relate my skills and experience directly to what they're looking for in the job spec. If they're looking for someone who can coach leaders and help managers communicate better, I'd share a story and some data about how I've done that successfully in another role. If they're looking for someone who can manage multiple communication channels and be responsible for high quality content, I'd talk about how I've done that before with great success. This would show that my skills and experience are directly transferable to this role, despite a lack of industry-specific experience. Make it really hard for them to ignore your incredible track record of results.
Show that you've done your homework
Show recruiters you're serious about this job by doing some research on their sector and/ or their company. Read the company annual report, do a Google search for recent news on the company and pepper in a few sentences to demonstrate your research in your application. You might find some gems on Glassdoor that will give you some insights into the communication challenges they're facing, for example are lots of employees complaining about leadership? Are there comments about it being hard to find information? Sites like this are a treasure trove of insider information about the company. This will demonstrate your curiosity and ability to learn about their company. Show them that you understand their specific situation and you can help them.
Turn your outsider status into an advantage
I think I'd also be positioning myself as being at an advantage as an outsider. I would be explaining that I'd bring fresh eyes to the company which would help me spot opportunities that industry veterans might miss. I'd also be bringing a variety of insights, ideas and practices from other sectors that could benefit their organisation. I'd be turning their entire approach on it's head and arguing that what they REALLY need is someone who has never worked in their industry before, someone who can see their challenges objectively without an insider bias. This is a bold move but I'd go for it!
Demonstrate your ability to learn
I'd probably address the elephant in the room at the bottom of my application, acknowledging that I haven't worked in this specific industry before but I have a track record of quickly learning new sectors. In my case, for example, I could talk about how I quickly got up to speed in the finance organisation or how I smashed it out of the park in the police despite never working in a policing organisation before. Try to identify some examples where you've transitioned between different types of organisations and what you did to learn fast.
The bottom line
That's the kind of approach I'd take. Seeing a requirement for industry experience would certainly never stop me sending in an application. Because I fundamentally understand and believe that any good internal communicator can learn industry terminology and context. The ability to communicate effectively, build trust and drive alignment is a skill that transcends all sectors.
Keep applying for roles where you see a good fit with your skills, experiences and career aspirations. Maybe the recruiter just doesn't realise that they need you. It's up to you to communicate that and help them see your value.
They may well come to the conclusion that your broader perspective and proven communication track record is more valuable than the specific industry experience they thought they needed.
Thanks for reading and stay curious,
Joanna
PS If your workload is bonkers and you want some practical, easy-to-use advice to calm it all down, join me on 5th March for a free online event with Workvivo. I'll give you a downloadable template you can use anytime you feel overwhelmed by your workload (it's the exact one I use myself). Register here.
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Want to work together?
- Join The Curious Tribe. This is my membership community for ambitious, curious communicators who want to achieve more in their roles and have fun at the same time. Membership allows you to work directly with me for 12 months, make deep connections with other communication pros who 'get it' and improve your skills through training and learning. More info here.
- Ready to review your channels and content but don't know where to start? Download my practical Internal Comms Audit Playbook to guide you through a DIY audit - no expensive consultant needed. This has ready-to-use templates and checklists to give you a systematic way to do your own audit which you can repeat every single year. Get it here.
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- Enroll in my course, "How to use ChatGPT as your personal assistant". This is a practical, on-demand course where I'll show you 38 specific ways to use ChatGPT (or any generative AI tool) to help you in your job as an internal communicator. You can enroll in the course here.